Man's new life cut short after crash with alleged drunken driver

Jonathan Steve Diaz moved to Orlando from the Bronx, N.Y., with his girlfriend and her two children six months ago to reunite with his family, who relocated about a year ago.

Together, Diaz and his girlfriend started a new life. They moved into the same apartment complex as his sister, Jessica Peguero, and he began working the night shift at Walt Disney World on the maintenance and custodial team, his sister said Tuesday.

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But Sunday night, the 30-year-old's new beginning was cut short.

He was on his way to work, according to his sister, when he was rear-ended by an alleged drunken driver and killed after his Toyota Camry slammed into a concrete wall on Winter Garden Vineland Road near Lake Buena Vista just before 11:30 p.m.

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The driver, Gina M. Estrada, 30, and her two passengers left the scene on foot, officials said. A witness helped troopers find them. Estrada was arrested early Monday and taken to Orange County Jail. Her charges include leaving the scene of an accident with death and DUI manslaughter with failure to render aid. She is out of jail on a $15,150 bond.

Since then, his mother hasn't eaten much. Peguero said she's been answering her mother's cell phone because she doesn't want to talk to anyone.

Orange County Fire Rescue received a call about the crash on Winter Garden Vineland Road at Vista Oaks Court about 11:25 p.m., according to Florida Highway Patrol.

Diaz was pronounced dead when firefighters arrived at 11:34 p.m., Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Kim Montes said. Diaz was driving northbound in his 1996 Toyota Camry. Estrada and her two passengers were also traveling northbound in her 2009 BMW 328i. As both cars approached Vista Oaks Court, Estrada hit the back of Diaz's car, troopers said. Diaz's front tires hit a curb, causing his car to spin. The driver's side of his car then hit the concrete wall. Estrada lost control of her car, hit a median curb and then hit the concrete wall before coming to a stop, troopers said. No one in Estrada's car was hurt.

"I don't know which part of [Estrada's] car struck the wall but it was significant for Diaz and the injuries he received because the driver's side hit the wall," Montes said.

A witness saw Estrada and her male passenger, Robert Gomez, walking away from the scene. The third passenger, Giselle Otterness, was seen in nearby bushes, according to Montes.